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Ethiopia: A New Tax Appeal Commission Commences Operation

A new tax appeal commission started operation after it took over its duties from the dissolved tax council under the Office of the Attorney General. The commission will directly report to The Prime Minister who appointed Mulugeta Ayalew as its head. Other five nominees to be the members of the commission are awaiting approval from the Premier. The board members can only serve for three years and two consecutive terms.

Mulugeta said, “The main reason for the formation of the commission is the unresolved pile of complaints and inefficient service delivered by the previous council.”

The commission’s office, which is situated at the Ethiopia Revenue & Customs Authority’s headquarters on Equatorial Guinea Street, will be open during normal business hours unlike its predecessor which only met twice a week to review tax appeals.

The Commission is required to resolve complaints within 120 days and provide the decision letter within seven days of the final decision. Businesses have to present their complaints before the appellate commission within a month and if they are not satisfied by the commission’s decision, they can appeal to the Federal First Instance Court.

Federal taxpayer’s complaints which were 41 in 2014 increased to be 344 in the 2017/18 fiscal year. Mulugeta said, “The main reason for the increase in recent years was the lifting of the interest taxes.” 

The Commission is completing the human resource formation and budget proposal which will be sent to the Ministry of Civil Service for approval. Mulugeta said they might consider opening branch offices in the regional states based on complaints from the regions.

The Tax Authority aims to collect Birr 235.7 billion from domestic tax revenues during this fiscal year.

Source: Addis Fortune

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